


Is It Chilly In Here, Or Is It Just Me

by hyliank8



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Big Brother Sans (Undertale), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced soul abuse, Somewhat-hinted W. D. Gaster/Sans, W. D. Gaster is not related to Skelebros, Younger Brother Papyrus (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 08:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyliank8/pseuds/hyliank8
Summary: Papyrus isn't scared, Sans is fine, and Gaster's a normal, non-abusive person.  Really.(Just a short drabble.  Please mind the tags. Unfortunately, this is not a wholesome Sanster fic.)





	Is It Chilly In Here, Or Is It Just Me

**Author's Note:**

> i just needed to force myself to post something i've written. just ,, o n c e 
> 
> Skelebros’ relationship is 100% platonic. Papyrus is still a kid but Sans is somewhere in his early adult years, probably 18-20.
> 
> In case it's not immediately obvious, you're seeing events unfold through Papyrus' eyes.

You know there’s nothing to be afraid of.

You’re only shaking from the cold.  Gaster never did come over to help your brother get that heater in the basement fixed like he said he was going to, back before...  
  
You shake your head because that doesn’t matter, and because you’re not scared, not even a little bit.  You’re strong, and you know it’s true because your brother always tells you so. He’s always there to make you feel better when you’re doubting yourself.

A blood-curdling scream rips through the frigid silence.  Ice seizes the magic in your veins.  The sound came from the room next to yours—

—but _no_.  It’s not Sans.  It sounds like him, but it’s _not_ him.  You know that.  He’s safe, he’s okay—he’s always okay because nothing can hurt him.  He’s told you that, and your brother knows everything, so it must be true.

You wrap the big scarf tighter around yourself, pretending that he’s here hiding in the closet with you, because when he’s with you you always know everything is going to be okay.  You focus on the feeling the red wool leaves on your bones, pretending the warm scratchiness of the fabric is just Sans running his hand up and down your back methodically like he always does when you’re upset.  He’s reassuring you, making sure you know that everything’s going to be okay, just like he always does after Gaster visits.

You let the soft contact of the scarf around you anchor you in the moment, trying to forget everything but the memory of your brother hugging you close, your souls humming in sync.  You don’t think about how Sans’ soul beat gets weaker and weaker after every time Gaster visits—

_—his hope strained, stretched thin.  it’s always bad right after Gaster leaves, but being with you always strengthens it back up again.  it was really bad the first time when Gaster first changed, and you still remember how scared you were. but you’ll always be here for him, so it’s okay. it really is—_

You don’t think about how you always feel him trembling through your hugs after Gaster leaves—

_—and the tremors don’t leave.  when you two go to bed at night, you can’t sleep because he’s still shaking.  “it’s okay, it’s okay,” he keeps repeating, and you want to believe him, want to believe it’s only you who he’s trying to reassure, so you hug him close and he squeezes you back like he never wants to let go ever again—_

You don’t think about the chips and cracks you see in his bones all over his body, growing in number gradually but steadily—

_—you caught him limping more and more often now, and you knew his HP was dwindling.  it never had a chance to recover fully, and you weren’t healthy enough to heal him yourself—_

You don’t think about it.  You can’t think about it.  There’s so much you don’t understand—why the both of you can’t just run and hide, why Sans still has to visit the labs all the time, why Gaster suddenly changed in the first place—

_“it’s not him anymore, paps,” Sans had said. There was something raw in his words, a chilling sadness that didn’t make any sense._ _You didn’t understand, because Gaster looked the same as he always had, how could it not be him?—but then that look in his eyes when he looked at your brother, that smile.  he had always smiled when he looked at your brother before, and you knew smiles were good because they meant someone was happy, but now it was different. for some reason something was wrong with his smile and you couldn’t name what it was and you didn’t understand it but you didn’t like it, didn’t like it at all—_

You choke back a whimper and dig your fingers into the sides of your skull, screwing your eyes shut. He’s okay.  He’s always okay. Nothing can hurt him.  He’s told you that. He knows everything, so it must be true.  It must be true.  

It has to be.

You pull your legs in towards yourself and hug them close to you, burying your head between your knees.  You keep the woven textile wrapped tightly around you, and think about the day that Sans first gave you this scarf.  

_~~Why, why was Gaster hurting him? Didn’t Sans always help him? Isn’t that what~~ _ ~~_lab_ ~~ _~~assistants did?~~ _

~~_“G-Gaster please, don’t do this—” your soul feels cold in your rib cage when you hear his voice.  it’s so broken, and you can’t save him can’t do anything and you just want it all to_ stop—~~

Your fists clench, crimson cloth twisting around your thin fingers. _No_. No. Stop thinking about that.  That wasn’t the same day. It _couldn’t_ have been, because you remember how happy you’d felt when he’d gotten the scarf for you.  You had been _happy_.

You immediately fell in love with the thick fabric and the way it wrapped around you so perfectly from the first time you wore it, as though you were completely enveloped in Sans’ affection.  You loved how safe it made you feel, how it always made you feel so warm, so comfortable, so cared for, no matter what happened.

It just must be really cold tonight, because no matter how tightly you wrap yourself up your bones won’t stop rattling.

**Author's Note:**

> papyrus is uhhhh pretty traumatized ://
> 
> honestly not sure any of this made sense, haha, but feel free to lemme know what you thought! i really was not happy with this, but i just needed to force myself to put something out there for once, because too often i fall into this cycle of never really "finishing" things because i'm never happy with them.
> 
> my tumblr is [@hyliantimelordin221b](https://hyliantimelordin221b.tumblr.com/) (i know, what a URL. reminds me of 2012 *wipes away single tear of nostalgia*) so feel free to stop by if you ever feel the need to watch someone screaming into the abyss about sanster ://
> 
> also if you think this should be rated M please let me know, I really wasn't too sure.


End file.
